Homespun: Strawfoot, How We Prospered

In this week's paper, Christian Schaeffer reviews Strawfoot's How We Prospered. He had this to say:

From the start of Strawfoot's second full-length, How We Prospered, it's clear that the ramped-up bluegrass band has lightened its mood. Where its debut album, Chasing Locusts, was scorched by fire and blackened with brimstone, Prospered finds no small amount of joy in the dark folds of its Gothic Americana-inspired songs. The disc kicks off with the jaunty, banjo-driven "Broken Crown," which careens along with fiddle and guitar solos and a knee-slapping rhythm. Singer Marcus Eder has grown into his high-pitched, occasionally pinched delivery, and he inhabits these songs rather than merely performing them. Gone, too, are many of the Civil War-era string band affectations that saddled parts of Strawfoot's debut record; this time around, the band isn't shy about mixing influences, as on the raw, electric guitar-led "Invisible Man."

Read the rest here. Strawfoot's CD release show is (appropriately) on Halloween at Off Broadway. The Monads and Campfire Club are also on the bill.

MP3: Strawfoot, "Churchyard Cough"